ReceptionThe film received mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 29% of critics gave positive reviews, based on 81 reviews. Furthermore, another review aggreator, Metacritic, gave the film a 41/100 approval rating, based on 21 reviews from mainstream critics.

Despite the generally negative reaction from critics, Roger Ebert awarded the film three stars for not having any adult-themed scenes, as in his review he wrote, "It's as slam-bang preposterous as any R-rated comedy you can name. It's just that Paul Blart and the film's other characters don't feel the need to use the f-word as the building block of every sentence."

Box officePaul Blart Mall Cop was a box office hit. The film ranked #1 at the Canadian and United States box office with $9,791,368 from 3,144 theaters for an opening-day average of $3,105. During the film's entire 3-day opening weekend, the film remained at #1, grossing a total of $31,832,636, for a 3-day average of $10,125, outgrossing its $26 million budget. It grossed $39,234,238 over the entire 4-day MLK weekend, for a 4-day average of $12,479. The film was the second-best opening of all-time for the MLK weekend, behind 2008's Cloverfield. The film stayed at #1 in its second weekend, grossing another $21,623,182, dropping just 32 percent, and boosting the 10-day income to $64,923,380. As of April 28, 2009, the movie has grossed $176,102,023